Quote:

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditie....

MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - Russia's upper house of parliament voted on Wednesday to ratify entry into the World Trade Organization, and now only the signature of President Vladimir Putin is needed to complete the country's 18-year bid to join the trade rules club.

Russia will finally become the WTO's 156th member 30 days after it informs the trade body that Putin has signed off on December's deal, under which Moscow would cut import tariffs and open up sectors of its economy to foreign investment.

Friction with the United States persists, however, as the U.S. Congress has yet to repeal a Cold War-era measure - the Jackson-Vanik amendment - which links trade policy towards Moscow with human rights.

If the measure is not repealed, Russia would be in a position to deny U.S. exporters the market-opening concessions it made to join the global trade group...